China on Thursday sharply criticised calls for boycott of Chinese goods in India, saying it can only satisfy “personal vendettas” of some politicians at the cost of close bilateral ties and called on India to take measures to minimise any “repercussions”. The products that China exports to India fulfill the needs of the local market, Shen Danyang, the spokeperson for China’s Ministry of Commerce was quoted as saying by state-run People’s Daily online.

“Thus, a boycott of Chinese products would only satisfy some politicians’ personal vendettas at the cost of close ties between the two countries,” he said. As two rapidly growing economies, China and India must cooperate on economy and trade, he said. “China hopes India will take the necessary actions to minimise any repercussions of this incident for the mutual benefit of both nations,” he said.

Shen pointed out that China and India are each other’s major trade partners. By 2015, the total trade volume between the two countries had reached USD 71.62 billion, indicating that trade between China and India was increasing despite downward pressure from global trade. Bilateral trade added up to USD 52.31 billion between January and September 2016, which indicates that the momentum is being maintained, he said.

Calls for boycotting Chinese goods in India were made following China’s opposition to a UN ban on JeM chief Masood Azhar and India’s entry into Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG).